Nicholas Daley Waffle Crew Neck- tie dye

The same cloth as the rollneck, a different collar, and a different job. A crew neck in heavyweight waffle is what goes on over a tee and under everything else, and Daley’s version is detailed enough to be the outer layer on the days it needs to be. The raised grid traps air, so it insulates at a weight that never reads as a sweater. The pockets are set into the seams rather than patched onto the front, which keeps the body clean. The cuffs run long. Knitted in Portugal, it is the least demonstrative thing Daley makes and, on the evidence of our own wardrobes, the one we wear most.

Why we selected it

This is a plain answer to a plain question and we do not think there is more to it than that. It is warm, it is properly made, it goes under everything, and we wear it. We took it twice because a piece worn this often gets bought more than once.

The colour

Batik is a wax-resist dye technique, most closely associated with Java, in which molten wax is applied to cloth so that the waxed areas refuse the dye. What comes out is a pattern of hard edges and fine cracks where the wax broke, and it belongs to the specific piece of fabric it was made on. Daley works in the batik idiom here rather than reproducing a traditional pattern, in red against ivory, and the result is that the waffle structure and the dye pattern are doing two different things to the same surface at once. It is by some distance the most interesting thing done to this garment.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent cotton waffle, knitted in Portugal, batik-style dyed. Extended cuffs with thumbholes, two in-seam front pockets, crew neck. Colours: red and ivory.

Fit notes

Cut with room to go over a tee and under a jacket. Heavyweight cotton relaxes through the body over the first several wearings and comes back with washing. The cuffs are drafted long for the thumbhole, so do not read the sleeve length as a size error.

Styling and care

Against plain black or indigo, since the dye is the whole event. It is very good under the Fonte Jacket in black. Wash it cool, inside out, and alone for the first several washes because hand-dyed cotton releases colour, then dry it flat rather than hanging it. Keep it out of direct sun, which flattens the contrast the dye created. Our fabric care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The Crew Neck Waffle in black is the same knit undyed, and the Waffle Crewneck in navy the panelled spring version. The Beach Shirt carries dye work of a different kind, and the Pleated Trouser in black is the plain trouser under it. Everything we carry from Nicholas Daley is listed together.